Just a Cloak
by FinessMcGayor
Summary: Anakin has a no good, rotten, very bad day. Obi-Wan's cloak and a nap make everything better.


**For CrazyTenor42 and my bestie. They both had no good, rotten, very bad days recently, so I wrote this to cheer them a little.**

* * *

Adjusting to life in the Temple was difficult in some areas, relatively easy in others. Anakin didn't have to get up before the sun rose like he used to, and Master Obi-Wan even let him sleep in some days. It was nice.

The sleep couch was strange, replacing a bed, but that was alright. He also didn't have his own room, he shared one with Obi-Wan. There was a refresher, living space combined with a kitchen, separate closets for each of them, and a storage closet. But Anakin couldn't complain, since he was going to be a Jedi.

His short hair was strange at first, but he grew accustomed to it quickly since every other human padawan boy wore his hair that way. The clothes weren't the softest, but they were much better than the one outfit he owned as a slave.

Master Obi-Wan was also a very good cook, especially when it came to breakfast. Anakin would wake every morning to the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting up his nose, and he'd promptly bolt out of bed to dart across the room for breakfast. His master jokes that it seems that's the only way to rouse him.

But it isn't all great. Anakin first noticed the aversion his peers have toward him when he tried to talk to them for the first time. They'd acted as though he wasn't there, and he'd looked dejectedly at his boots before walking away.

When he tried to sit near them in the Archives, they'd always set holobooks in the empty space and cast unsure looks at him as he approached.

He hadn't been the most popular kid, but he'd at least been on an equal level with his peers on Tatooine, since they were almost all slaves as well. Logic dictated it should be the same with the Jedi. But he's the Chosen One, like Master Qui-Gon had told him, and he supposes he's not allowed to have any friends.

So he pretends everything is alright and tries to ignore it, fighting back tears when he's rejected again and again.

He spends time with Master Obi-Wan, as much time as he can, and the man doesn't seem to mind. In fact, Master Obi-Wan seems to enjoy having company. Anakin thinks he looks as lonely as his padawan is. So it brings a bit of comfort, knowing he's cheering his master up. Especially after… well… Master Qui-Gon's passing.

Everything turns rotten one day, though. He miserably fails three tests in his classes and is forced to sit alone in the cafeteria at lunch, since Master Obi-Wan has a meeting. When he returns to the apartment, he finds Master Obi-Wan packing.

"You're _leaving_?" Anakin asks incredulously, shock freezing him in place.

Obi-Wan sighs as he tosses a tunic into his bag. "It isn't as though I have a choice, Padawan. I expect you to behave while I'm gone."

"But-"

"This is not up for discussion. I will return in three days."

With that, Master Obi-Wan walks out the door, abandoning Anakin to his misery.

* * *

Anakin fails two more tests in those three days, since Master Obi-Wan isn't there to help him work through any problems with his classwork.

At lunch, he picks at his food until most of his peers have left, and then dumps his tray so he can leave to go… do something.

He returns to the apartment and sobs into his pillow one evening, wishing he could beat up his peers or scream at them until they stopped being so awful. _I hate them, _he whispers, repeating it so many times he loses track, glaring holes in the beige carpet.

But that hate dissipates, leaving him drained. He manages to drag himself off the couch to get some water, and in his exhaustion, blindly grabs Master Obi-Wan's cloak rather than his own. He curls up with it around him, blinking in tired surprise when he finds the cloak to be much bigger than normal.

At this point, Anakin can't bring himself to care, using it as a blanket as he drifts to dreamless sleep for the first time since Master Obi-Wan left.

* * *

Obi-Wan can hardly keep his eyes open as he staggers into the apartment, dropping his bag on the floor and swearing he'll deal with it later. He practically yanks off his boots with what little energy he has left, turning to face the two sleep couches in the room. Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow upon seeing a rather familiar cloak bunched over a rather familiar little boy. A small chuckle is the only sound made before he promptly crawls into bed, agreeing with Anakin for once. Sleep sounds like a very, _very_ good idea.


End file.
